All Hail to the Chief
by Doctor Foster
Summary: In 'Strange Visitors', Alice said that: "He is coming!" but could not tell Larry or Rita the identity of that person. This is what happened when she announced once again that, "He is coming!" - much to Larry and Rita's amazement.


13

"All Hail to the Chief!"

By

Doctor Foster

It was still dark outside and Larry was asleep, sprawled supine across his bed. All was quiet until a spasmodic crackling noise as if from an electrical discharge disturbed his dreams. He woke, not realizing the cause of his waking and propped himself up on his elbow not sure whether to get up for a visit to the bathroom or to turn over and go back to sleep.

Another electrical crackle – far louder than before – roused him fully from his lethargy. A strange aura of light then appeared above his bed and alarmed by what was happening, Larry sprang to his feet and watched as a human shape appeared within the light. The shape appeared to be naked and very definitely female. She had long red hair and several multi-coloured tendrils of energy projected from her body to brush gently against the walls of Larry's bedroom.

Larry watched the apparition in amazement. "Alice? What are you doing here?" He had to shout to make himself heard above the sound of crackling electricity.

"He is coming," she replied dreamily. "He told me to tell you that he is coming!"

"Who told you that? Who is he?" Larry asked.

"Niles … Niles Caulder is coming back!"

Having said that, Alice Wired-for-Sound suddenly disappeared in a sudden crescendo of noise and brightness that was sufficient to hurl Larry to the floor, wreck his furniture and blow out all the windows of his bedroom.

Larry sat motionless leaning against the wall of his bedroom amongst the debris. He did not move for at least a minute but then reached into the pocket of his dressing-gown and pulled out an old flip-top mobile telephone. He flicked it open and with the aid of a pencil-pointer that was attached to the phone by a piece of twine, he rang Rita. "Reet, you're not gonna believe what just happened!"

After breakfast, Rita called in to help Larry with the clean-up of the mess that filled his room: "Are you sure there's been an explosion?" Rita quipped. "I thought your room always looked like this?"

"Hearty ha-ha," Larry replied dryly. "You're more of a friend of Alice than I am: can you get hold of her? I think we ought to speak to her."

"I'm not sure how to get hold of her," Rita replied. "She normally contacts me, not the other way round."

Larry stopped sweeping-up to ask: "Does she have a telephone number or an address?"

"Not that I know of," Rita replied.

"I think we're gonna have to insist on a contact number … what do we do if alien's invade? How do we get hold of her? Let's make it part of the Welcome Pack for any new members," Larry quipped.

Rita didn't answer but Larry refused to let go of the topic: "Didn't she say she used to work for a telephone company?"

"I think so but that doesn't mean that she has a phone now!"

"Then we might as well just wait for the Chief to turn up."

"I suppose so …"

After a moment, Larry added: "I hope he's not a ghost or a zombie … I hate them!"

"Don't be morbid," Rita chided.

"I wasn't! As far as we know, he's been dead for a few years: hasn't he? How else is he to 'come back' if not as a ghost or a zombie?"

Rita became thoughtful: "I don't know," she said.

How indeed was the Chief to return and what would happen if he did? Larry and Rita had kept the Doom Patrol going in his absence and they had even managed to acquire two new members in Enid Bassett and Alice Wired-for-Sound. Would the Chief try to take control once again? Both Larry and Rita had misgivings about that prospect. After all, they could not be so easily duped now as they had been in the past.

Larry and Enid stood to one side of Rita as Rita addressed the air above her bed in her apartment. She called out: "Alice, we need to talk! … Can you hear me?" And then very plaintively: "Alice …?"

"Nothing's happening?" Enid said. "I don't think she's here …"

Larry agreed with Enid: "Yeah, why do you think that this is someplace that Alice can hear you?"

"Because she's appeared here in the past," Rita replied.

"Yeah but, how do you know she can hear you?" Larry added.

"I don't know!" Rita was as frustrated as the others: "But I'm open to any suggestions that you may have …?"

Larry shrugged his shoulders to indicate that he couldn't come up with any alternatives. Then, after a few moments of awkward silence, Enid chirruped up: "You do have a very nice apartment, Rita."

"Thank you, Enid." She then turned away for one last attempt to contact Alice.

This was then taken up by Larry who shouted out: "Alice, Alice! Can you hear us?"

When nothing happened, Larry sat down on one of several large armchairs: "This is hopeless," he said.

Enid sat on the arm of the same chair and received a withering look from Rita.

"Enid, please, if you have to sit down, please sit on another chair," Rita snarled.

Enid didn't reply but got to her feet and scowling she slumped down on another chair. Rita thought to say something else to Enid about her attitude but thought better of it. "I'm sorry, Enid. I didn't mean to be so tetchy. It's just the prospect of Niles Caulder returning, it just sets my nerves all on edge!"

"That's okay, Rita. I understand. You have a lovely home and if it was mine, I wouldn't want anyone sitting on the arms of my chairs either." She smiled and received a warm smile from Rita in return.

As the conversation died away a faint crackling noise could be heard as if there was an electrical device were shorting someplace close. Suddenly, the noise increased in volume and Alice appeared floating in the air in the centre of the room.

Tendrils of sparking energy that originated from Alice brushed against the walls of the room as she descended from the air to stand facing Rita, Larry and Enid.

"Wow - that was quite an entrance!" Enid declared before adding: "Where are your clothes?"

"Alice doesn't seem able to keep them: they disappear with a regularity that can become tiresome," Rita said.

"I no longer notice," Larry said.

"Liar!" Rita hissed playfully. She then turned back to Alice: "Alice, we need to ask you about Niles: have you seen him recently?"

"No," Alice replied.

"You appeared in my apartment last night," Larry explained, "and said that Niles 'was coming'!"

"I did? I don't remember that."

"Are you sure about that?" Larry asked.

"Yes. I have not seen Niles. Rita thinks he is dead. You have also told me that he is dead. Since you told me that, I have stopped looking for him," Alice replied.

"Well that's the end of that," Larry said turning away.

Rita continued watching Alice: "Why are you smiling, Alice?"

"Niles is a wonderful man, is he not?" Alice replied.

" _Is_ a wonderful man, Alice, _is_?" Rita queried.

"Yes, he _is_ a wonderful man!"

"What's going on?" Larry asked.

"Alice isn't telling us everything she knows: are you Alice?" Rita said.

"What are you not telling us, Alice?" Larry asked. "This is very important: what do you know about Niles Caulder that you are not telling us?"

"He asked me not to tell you," Alice explained.

"What is it?" Larry pushed.

Rita added: "Alice, you have to tell us. We are your friends. You can tell us everything."

Alice though seemed reluctant to reveal anything more.

"Enid," Larry urged. "See what you can find out."

At Larry's request, Enid reached out and held on to Alice's arm. Suddenly, there was a psychic blast that engulfed the entire room in a blinding light. As soon as the light returned to normal, Larry and Rita could make out that Enid was lying unconscious on the floor and that Alice was gone. Rita went straight to attend to Enid while Larry looked on: "Must remember not to ask Enid to do that to Alice ever again," Larry said.

"She's alright, I think," Rita said. "It must have been some sort of psychic backlash due to their powers cancelling each other out."

Enid slowly came round and was able to sit up. She took a drink of water and was able to tell Rita and Larry: "I was able to see something in her mind. It was Niles Caulder – I recognised him from photographs. Alice was talking to him in a room and there was a large television screen and a shadowy shape lurking in the background … I can't remember anything else, though there was a feeling of … imminent danger. Something was about to happen, but I don't know what it was."

Larry whispered to Rita: "Why do I have a bad feeling in my gut? Oh yes, that's it, Niles Caulder is involved!"

"I'm worried about Alice," Rita said. "What happened to her? Where has she disappeared?"

"If she's close-by, N-Man will find her," Larry said.

In fact, the blast from touching Enid had knocked Alice clean outside of the apartment block. Alice found herself floating in the air outside of Rita's building. The sensation of contact with Enid had unsettled Alice. She found herself distinctly unhappy if not downright disturbed by the whole experience and when the Negative Man suddenly appeared before her she reacted violently, striking out at him with her tendrils. The resulting blow was enough to repel the Negative Man back into Larry's body.

"She's outside the building," Larry announced to Rita and Enid as he regained consciousness.

Alice meanwhile was reviewing what had just happened: the Negative Man had just attacked her; Enid had hurt her and; it was all at Rita's doing! Niles was right after all! He was the only one that could be trusted. He had said that the Doom Patrol would hurt her and they had done so!

Larry sent the Negative Man back to check on Alice but she was now no longer to be found anywhere and so he quickly returned to Larry.

Meanwhile, elsewhere …

Rouge sat in her favourite chair near the window of her room and listened carefully to what she was being told. Even so, the venetian blinds on the window were closed and the room was lit only by those shafts of the evening sun that the blinds allowed. Rouge then, was lit by alternating bands of light and dark. She nodded to indicate her understanding of the message she was receiving. She had a question though: "How am I to reach this Alice?"

"Your friend, Jessica, is the only one who will be able to find her."

"Then why are you asking me to find her?"

"Because Rouge, you are my favourite and Jessica is your friend. It is only fitting that if I need Jessica to do something for us then we must arrange it via you. It is the chain of command."

Rouge nodded again: "I understand. I'll speak to Jess."

"That is where she was when she disappeared," Rouge said pointing to the air outside of the apartment window.

The two women stood on the sidewalk across the road from Rita's apartment. Jess Harlow looked where Rouge pointed. "If she disappeared from there she could be anywhere in space or time. I don't think it will be possible to follow her!"

"Can you try?" Rouge asked.

"I suppose," Jess answered.

Jess Harlow didn't like the Dream Dimensions: they were too alien for her earth-bound nature. Her shadow-form though, allowed her to travel anywhere that she wanted and her instinct would hopefully lead her to where Alice was probably lurking.

Rouge watched as Jessica became a shadow and then disappeared entirely from sight as she crossed the dimensional barriers. Rouge ignored the stares of astonishment that came from the other pedestrians and turned to hail a taxi-cab and return to her home.

Soon after Alice's disappearance …

Rita's mobile-phone rang and as she checked she could see that it was from an 'unknown number'. She answered it anyway.

"Rita, this is Mark Merlin ... I have just experienced a very powerful psychic blast and it appears to have originated from your apartment. What has happened?"

Within fifteen minutes, Merlin appeared at Rita's apartment door. He was dressed immaculately in a light-grey three-piece suit, white shirt and blue neck-tie.

"Come in, Mark" Rita said. "You were quick!"

"I live close-by. It was no problem at all to come round."

After Merlin is greeted by Larry and introduced to Enid, Rita explained how Enid had touched Alice which had resulted in the psychic explosion that Merlin had sensed. "Alice has disappeared now and we need to get hold of her. I am worried that she may consider Enid's contact to have been an attack. That wasn't our intention at all!"

"I can try and find her," Merlin replied. "She will have left a trail, a psychic-trail that is, that I may be able to follow. Is this the room where the event happened?"

Rita confirmed that it was the very room and she then thanked Merlin for his assistance.

Merlin then said: "Just give me a moment." He stepped silently into the psychic hot-spot and shut his eyes. He then reached out into the air as if he were reaching for something invisible. He made a turning motion with his outstretched hand and disappeared into thin air.

"Whow!" Enid said. "I never expected that!"

Larry was near the window: "He's outside, floating in the air!" he observed.

The two women rushed to the window: "No, you're too late! He's gone again!" Larry said.

Alice Wired-for-Sound stood in the middle of a room. Remarkably, she was not for once naked but was dressed in a navy-blue jacket and skirt over a white blouse. Her attempt at a 'normal appearance' was, however, seriously handicapped by her bare feet and her tendrils which extended in all directions to brush lightly against all the surfaces of everything that was in the room. She seemed at peace with herself and the situation.

The room was wood panelled and there was a large old-fashioned switchboard complete with wires and connecting pins that covered one complete wall of the room. The entire room looked as if it had come straight out of a Coen Brothers movie depicting the communications hub of a large corporation in the 1950s. Did the real world ever look like this or was it just an imagined scenario? If you had to choose one word to describe it you would say 'atmospheric'.

Alice's state of peace was suddenly disturbed by an insistent knocking on the door at the far end of the room. The shadow of someone waiting to enter could be seen through the frosted glass window in the top half of the door. In response, Alice drifted through the air to the door. She turned the doorknob and pulled the door open.

"Are you Alice?" Jess Harlow asked politely.

"Please come in. I've been waiting for you?" Alice replied.

"That's nice," Jess replied stepping into the switchboard-room. She watched as Alice shut the door behind her and then floated back through the air to stand in her previous position at the centre of the room.

"You've come to fetch me," Alice then said.

"I have. How did you know that?"

"Niles told me."

"Ah, Niles Caulder: I've heard a lot about him but I've never met him."

"He is a wonderful man."

"Yes, I've heard that too," Jessica added without conviction. "What are you doing here, Alice?" she then said before taking a quick tour of the room, studying the paraphernalia of the switchboards with great interest. "All this stuff looks pretty old," she said.

"It is old. It's what I'm used to … I live here now," Alice replied.

Jess stopped her little tour. She was puzzled: "This is your home?"

"Yes, it is. From here, I can make a connection with anyone."

"Really, that's worth knowing - if I ever wanted to check-up on what my boyfriend was up to!"

"Oh, I can do that alright!" Alice replied brightly.

With that, the door at the end of the room opened again and this time, it revealed Mark Merlin standing outside. "Ah, I see you have company," he said.

Both women looked in his direction. "I do not know you," Alice said suspiciously.

"No, we have never met," Merlin said as he stepped into the room, "though I know Rita and Larry and they have told me about you."

"Ah!" Jess exclaimed pointing at Merlin. "He's in league with the Doom Patrol!"

"Alice, they have asked me to find you as they are concerned that they may have upset you." He then indicated Jess Harlow: "And who are you? I do not know your name."

"I am the Shadow-Thief," Jess answered.

Merlin nodded. "You're Alice's friend?"

"I am," Jess replied.

Merlin's attention returned to Alice: "Rita and Larry want to know that you're alright," he explained. "What shall I tell them?" As Alice paused before saying anything, Merlin continued: "You probably want to speak to them yourself, don't you? That would be best."

"Perhaps I will, "Alice said, "though I'm not speaking to Enid: I do not like her!"

Larry paused in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room of his apartment and took a sip of his drink. Just as he swallowed his first mouthful he was amazed to see that the wall he was facing suddenly grew in brightness to reveal a figure walking towards him from out of what looked to be a long tunnel.

"Hello, Niles," Larry said calmly. "Long time: no see!"

"Hello, Larry," the Chief replied. "Are you well?"

"I'm okay thanks, though you look decidedly well: you're walking and alive! Who'd have thought?"

Caulder slapped his thighs in appreciation: "Yes, these are as right as rain, now! And as you well know, reports of our passing can often be exaggerated!"

"Our mutual friend, Alice, said that you were due to pay us a visit: you planning on staying around for long?"

Caulder continued to smile as he replied: "I've come to see you, Larry, to recruit you into my new Doom Patrol: what do you think? It would be like old times!"

"Yes, I suppose it would!" Larry leant against the doorpost. He dared not take his eyes off Caulder as he remained suspicious of the Chief's intentions. "But the thing is you see, I'm already in the Doom Patrol, the old and original Doom Patrol, with Rita."

"I want Rita with us as well, that goes without saying!"

Caulder took a step towards Larry and he instinctively stood up from the doorpost, alert for anything but keeping his aura of calmness: "And what about Cliff?" he asked. "You going to recruit Cliff as well?"

"Well of course I am!" Caulder took another step towards Larry.

"Good! Do you know where he is?" Larry asked cautiously.

Caulder glanced at his feet: "No, do you?"

Larry then stepped back into the kitchen and nonchalantly placed his unfinished drink next to the sink, but he still maintained his alertness. "No," he said as he leant against the sink. From the corner of his eye he gauged the reaching distance to a sharp carving knife that had been left on the draining board – just in case.

"So, what do you think Larry? Are you with me?" the Chief replied enthusiastically.

"I'll need to talk it through with Rita," Larry replied.

"Of course you do, but just remember Larry. I want you for my team but if you're not with me … Well, you know the rest!"

Larry laughed at Caulder's threat: "I'll let you know," he said.

Caulder then backed out of the kitchen as the brightness reappeared on the wall. He then turned and walked into the brightness. "I'll be seeing you, Larry!" he announced with a friendly wave as both Caulder and the tunnel of light blinked out of sight. The room was back as it was and Larry checked it for any indications of what had happened. Almost immediately, Larry's phone rang: it was Rita.

"Larry," she said her voice full of excitement. "The Chief was just here! He left me a moment ago!"

This admission puzzled Larry: "But he can't have! He was here and left me only a moment ago? How could he be in two places at the same time?"

"He wanted me, and you, to join his new Doom Patrol," Rita said.

"That's what he said to me! He wants Cliff as well but he doesn't know where he is."

Rita said: "He never mentioned Cliff to me though he did say that he was intending to re-recruit a lot of previous members. I suppose that would automatically include Cliff."

"Even the dead ones?"

"What did you tell him, Larry? Did you say you'd join his new team?" Rita asked.

Larry snorted and said: "I told him I was with you in the old team and that we'd have to talk about it!"

"It's all so very weird!"

"Yes, just like old times!"

"Yeah," Rita agreed. "Welcome to our world!"

The security truck drove down the concrete ramp into the underground car-park and continued through the maze of parked cars towards the main pedestrian exit from the basement – the bank of four elevators. As it stopped there, the driver, Rudolfo Valentino jumped down out of the cab and headed towards the rear of the van. As he did so, a young woman walked from her recently parked car towards the elevators.

Valentino spotted the young woman: "Beautiful lady!" he said. "It would be better if you took the day off work today!"

The young woman looked disdainfully at the dwarf who was dressed as a security guard. "I beg your pardon?" she replied.

"Do not go to work today: that is my advice," he added.

"Why should I take your advice?" she demanded.

"Suit yourself!" Valentino then opened the doors at the rear of the truck to reveal one of his associates standing there brandishing a machine gun in both hands and cross belts of ammunition slung around his powerful chest. Mallah leapt from the back of the truck and hurried to the elevators. On seeing him, the young woman screamed and ran off back towards her car.

"Yes, run: run away, puny humans!" Mallah yelled after her.

"You do love to make an entrance, don't you?" Valentino casually observed.

"Quiet or I shall crush you like a bug!" Mallah promised.

Another voice sounded from the back of the truck: "There is no need to be so belligerent, Mallah!" Following Mallah out of the rear of the truck, the crab-like mechanical-creature that was the Brain scuttled after his simian colleague.

Valentino smiled, ignoring the gorilla's threat and followed Mallah into the elevator. When the Brain had also entered the elevator, the doors closed and they all began their vertical journey up to the top floor of the skyscraper.

Meanwhile, at the building's grand, main entrance, the doors were opened to reveal Niles Caulder – dressed in an immaculate navy-coloured suit, white shirt and dark tie – marching purposefully and confidently up to the reception desk. At a step behind, and on either side of him, followed Rouge and Jessica Harlow – both wearing body-hugging suits: Rouge in red and, Harlow in white. Many people turned to watch the three striking figures and wonder who the imposing threesome might be.

"I am Niles Caulder. I have a meeting in the Board Room," the Chief announced to the receptionist.

The receptionist immediately referred Caulder to a smartly-dressed man who was also waiting at reception. He was a well-groomed, middle-aged man with long blond hair pulled back into a pony-tail. He was wearing a blue blazer and was clearly connected with the security profession as he wore dark glasses even in the lobby of the building.

"Professor Caulder, I am John Fellowes. I am to take you and your colleagues straight up to the Board Room: if you'll come this way, please?" Fellowes then led the Chief, Rouge and Harlow to the elevator and they too headed up to the topmost floor of the building.

As they travelled up in the elevator, Fellowes said to Caulder: "I have been instructed that once your meeting starts I am to admit no-one else to the entire floor of the building."

"Good," Caulder replied. "How many men do you have on the detail?"

"One other," Fellowes replied.

Caulder was surprised by this reply: "There are just two of you?" he queried.

"We are specialists," Fellowes replied. "I assure you that two will be adequate to the job."

"I hope you're right," Caulder replied icily.

The other security specialist was waiting for them as the elevator-door opened. She was a young woman aged around thirty with long black hair which was pulled, just like Fellowes' hair, into a long ponytail. Fellowes introduced his assistant, naming her as Kay.

Kay opened the double-doors leading into a large, plush, meeting room that occupied much of the top floor of the building. At the centre of the room was a large circular table around which had been arranged several chairs. One of the chairs was already occupied

The man waiting for Caulder and the others was grey-haired and smartly dressed in an expensively-cut dark blue suit, pale-blue shirt and striking purple tie. He rose from his seat to greet the newcomers.

"Hello, Steve!" Caulder said. "You're early."

Steve Dayton took Caulder's outstretched hand: "It's a business habit of mine. One that's hard to break."

Caulder made the introductions and all four took seats around a large circular table.

"I'm pleased you came," Caulder said.

"I'm happy to be here. Is Rita coming?" Dayton asked.

Caulder smiled: "She said she would, but let's wait and see. Would that be a problem for you?"

Dayton's expression remained friendly: "No problem at all."

"What do you think?" Larry asked. "Has the Chief finally gone over to the 'dark side'?"

Rita looked glum: "Hard to say. He may have done."

"We'll need a cunning plan," Larry said after a few moments of consideration.

"With just a hint of 'surprise' for added measure," Rita added.

"Yeah … I wish we had some more muscle in the group – and I'm deliberately not looking at you right now."

"Like Cliff, you mean?" Rita wondered.

"Yes, just like Cliff," Larry said.

The door to the Board Room opened again, and this time it was Mallah, the Brain and Valentino that entered the room. Both Fellowes and Dayton, in particular, tensed at the sight of a heavily armed gorilla entering the room.

"Ah, welcome!" Caulder said.

The Brain clambered up the leg of the table and the sound of his metallic feet tip-tapped noisily across the polished surface of the table until he had selected a suitable spot, directly opposite and facing Caulder, in which to come to a rest.

Mallah sat next to the Brain placing his guns with a clatter on the table but never letting go of either of them. Valentino sat next to Mallah.

"Please, relax, everyone," Caulder said. "We are all friends here!"

"That remains to be seen," the Brain replied ominously.

Mallah just grunted his comment at Caulder, blowing aggressively through his nose.

Dayton remained silent, but did not take his eyes off Mallah.

Almost immediately after the three members of the Brotherhood had taken their seats, the next person arrived at the meeting: Alice Wired-for-Sound did not need or use doors, she simply appeared in the air above the centre of the grand table and descended gradually to take her place. Her only acknowledgement was for Niles Caulder with whom she shared a beaming smile and a head-nod of welcome.

"Thank you Alice. You grace us all with your beauty," Caulder said.

Alice was wearing her borrowed, green, Doom Patrol dress that had been loaned to her by Rita: however, it was luminescing into moments of complete transparency which was already proving a distraction for the male attendees of the meeting.

"Alice, are the two special guests coming?" Caulder asked.

"Yes, they promised me that they would be here," Alice replied.

"Rita and Larry?" Dayton asked.

"No, not Rita and Larry. Alice refers to other ex-Doom Patrollers." Caulder replied mysteriously.

Rita and Larry were at that very moment just arriving at the top floor of the building. They exited the elevator and were immediately met by Fellowes' security colleague, Kay.

"We were invited; honest!" Larry explained.

Kay smiled and indicated the way in to the Board Room.

"She was very alert," Rita whispered as they passed out of Kay's hearing.

"I don't mind sharing with you that I am not looking forward to this," Larry said and pushed open the doors leading into the meeting room. On seeing the other occupants of the room, both Larry and Rita froze at the threshold.

"Yeah, you were right, Rita. Somebody has been watching _Godfather 3,_ "

Larry said loudly for everyone's benefit.

"Larry, Rita! Do come in! Sit down. It's wonderful to see you here!" Caulder stood and indicated two empty chairs. He shook Larry's hand and gave Rita a brief hug followed by a kiss on her cheek. Both Larry and Rita reacted with discomfort to the 'warmth' of Caulder's welcome.

"If Mallah tries that, be ready to rumble!" Larry hissed at Rita.

They sat in the empty seats, Larry occupying the seat between Steve Dayton and that taken by Rita.

"Hello, Rita. It's good to see you," Dayton said.

Rita chose to ignore her ex's welcome but his message was passed on by Larry: "Steve says Hi!"

"I do not want to speak to him," Rita hissed loudly enough for everyone to hear. "In fact, given a choice, I'd prefer to speak to Mallah!"

Larry then told Steve: "She says hi, yourself!"

On hearing this exchange, Mallah snorted another derisory laugh.

"Well!" Caulder said bringing the meeting to order, "I think that we are all here, though I was hoping that others might have made it! We all know each other so there's no need for introductions." He then turned to Fellowes who was standing behind Caulder's chair. "That'll be all. Please ensure that there are no interruptions to our meeting."

Fellowes nodded his understanding and left the room promptly closing the doors behind him as he did so.

"So, Niles," Rita said. "Let me get this straight, you're reforming your version of the Doom Patrol and you're inviting everyone in this room to join it?"

"That's quite right, Rita: everyone!" Caulder replied.

"You must be mad!" Larry added.

Dayton stepped into the fray: "Hear him out, Larry."

"And you're thinking about getting suited up again, after all this time? You surprise me!" Larry answered.

"I am and if you value our friendship, you'll listen to what Niles has to say!" Dayton replied.

"You'd sit down with the Brotherhood after all that they've done over the years?" Rita said.

"The Brotherhood now stands shoulder to shoulder with the Doom Patrol," the Brain explained. "We have reached an agreement. Our past sins have been pardoned, swept away. The slate has been wiped clean."

"Wiped clean? By whom?" Larry demanded

Caulder raised his voice to quieten everyone: "Everyone, please! I have asked you here to bring you altogether around a table where we can put aside past grievances, to forge a new alliance between like-minded, reasonable people. We ten can achieve far more together than when we are at each others' throats…

"Wait a moment!" Rouge said interrupting the Chief's flow. "There are twelve here including those two standing in the corner of the room!"

Everyone turned to see two shadowy forms standing together and previously unnoticed by everyone except Rouge.

"Ladies, do come and take seats. Our team is now complete. For those of you who have never met before … This is Kate Godwin also known as Coagula, and Mi-Sun Kwon, or Nudge. Welcome to you both!"

The two women took the empty seats and sat quietly. Neither of them spoke or changed their lack of expression. Godwin was dressed casually in a faded pink tee-shirt over distressed jeans while Nudge was dressed in a tight-fitting costume of black and white. Only Alice joined with Caulder in greeting the newcomers.

Larry watched them sit and then whispered to Rita: "Do you know either of them?"

Rita shook her head to indicate that she did not.

The seating at the round table was as follows, in clockwise order: Niles Caulder; Jessica Harlow; Rita Farr; Larry Trainor; Steve Dayton; The Brain; Mallah; Rudolfo Valentino; Mi-Sun Kwon; Kate Godwin; Alice Wired-for-Sound, and; Rouge.

Dayton broke the silence: "Niles: why are you doing this? What is your purpose in reforming the Doom Patrol?"

"Ah, the business man among us goes straight to the point of it all. Why are you here? We are all outsiders. We all have special abilities and yet, none of us belong in the company of the Justice League or the Titans, and come to that, neither can we call the ninety-nine percentage of ordinary people who live on this planet, our brothers and sisters. We are alone. Each one of us is sufficiently different from everyone else outside this room to deserve special consideration. Some of us have even experienced death and returned to this world. We are different. We must support each other. We are a Brotherhood and we are the Doom Patrol. We are one and the same!"

"Fine words," The Brain replied dryly.

"The Brotherhood and the Doom Patrol have history, Niles. You know that more than anyone!" Dayton replied. "How can we 'work together'?"

"We must work together," Caulder replied, "for the benefit of all!"

Rouge raised her voice above the general hubbub: "I am a member of the Brotherhood and I am prepared to welcome the Doom Patrol as my equals, to work with them as one team!"

"Thank you, Rouge," Caulder replied.

"Forgive my lack of trust, Niles," Rita snarled in reply, "but the Brotherhood has attacked the Doom Patrol on numerous occasions. Only recently, they stole one of Cliff's old bodies from Larry's basement and the Zahl Sisters shot both of us!"

The Brain interrupted Rita and marched menacingly across the table: "The Zahl Sisters are not and never have been members of the Brotherhood! Furthermore, the so-called Robotman body was as much my development as Professor Caulder's! I had every right to take it!"

"You mechanical skunk!" Larry added angrily. "You pillaged my basement – and that's not a euphemism!"

"Now, now, both of you please!" Caulder said raising his voice above the warring sides. "This is not the time or the place to raise old grievances. We must all agree to put them aside and start afresh. The past is the past and we must stop looking back. Instead, we must look forward to what we can achieve in the future."

Steve Dayton then broke in: "Niles! What is this 'future' you mention? What do you think you can achieve with all of us working together?"

"Thank you, Steve," Caulder acknowledged but before he could speak further, an eerie voice broke the silence: "Where am I? Why am I here?" Everyone at the table turned towards the person who had spoken. It was the previously silent Kate Godwin, Coagula. "Who are you all?" she wondered.

"Kate, my dear," Caulder answered. "I asked you to come here, or rather, Alice asked you on my behalf: don't you remember?"

Kate turned to gaze at Alice: "You were the angel," she said, her voice filled with awe. "You spoke to me and promised me a return to the world and yet you have brought me back to this! What is this place?"

"This is the world that you left," Alice replied.

"It is not what I remember," Kate replied, her voice clearly showing her distress.

"What is going on here?" Rita asked. "Who is this girl, Niles?"

"Yes: who is she?" the Brain asked.

"She is Coagula. She was in the Doom Patrol when you were 'elsewhere', Rita," Caulder explained. "Her power is extraordinary!"

"What power?" the Brain demanded with sudden interest.

Kate stood up from her place at the table and raised her arms: "This is my power! I am Coagula!"

Caulder screamed at Coagula: "No Kate, no!"

Almost immediately the atomic bonds holding the atoms of what made up the walls and ceiling of the room just fell apart and everyone within the room (except Alice) found themselves falling through the air to crash on top of the occupants of the floor below the Board Room. All Hell, then broke loose as Mallah reacted with fury at the perceived threat. He picked up the remains of part of the boardroom table and hurled it wildly at no-one in particular. Rouge was able to dodge the bulky missile and Harlow disappeared into her shadow-form but both Nudge and Coagula were knocked senseless by the blow and Caulder caught a deflection which momentarily stunned him. Rita expanded her size so that she was able to threaten Mallah and Mento too went on the attack, using his mind-force to push Mallah back.

"How can you do that?" Rita asked her one-time husband. "You're not wearing your helmet!"

"I have implants," Dayton boasted. "Electronic miniaturisation means I no longer need the helmet to boost my …" He wasn't able to finish his sentence as Mallah was able to throw another piece of debris at him catching him squarely on the chest and winding him.

"Alright, that's it! Enough's enough!" Fellowes jumped down from the remains of the upstairs floor and landed on Mallah. For some unknown reason, the gorilla was unable to get up from this blow.

Larry though, was suddenly able to figure out why: "Cliff, is it you?"

"It's me, old buddy," Fellowes replied pulling off the wig and plastic mask from his face to reveal that it was indeed Robotman.

Cliff Steele was then joined in the melee by his female companion that he had earlier introduced as, Kay: "You'll remember Crazy Jane or as she is known in this persona, Creeping Jenny!"

Creeping Jenny was about six feet six inches tall, thin, with long black hair and wearing a costume of green and violet. She was able to easily wade into the fray and was currently engaged in a tussle with Rouge.

"This is like old times!" Rita squealed in delight.

"It's good to see you too, toots!" Cliff replied picking up Valentino by the scruff of his neck with one hand and holding on firmly to the squirming mechanical legs of the crab-like Brain with the other.

"It doesn't look like you need our help at all!" Larry observed.

Nah, you two can take the rest of the day off! We've got it covered," Cliff replied.

Later, at Rita's apartment, Cliff and Kay joined Larry and Rita for an informal get-together.

"Where have you been Cliff? We looked all-over for you." Rita said.

"Yes, I'm sorry about that … I knew you were looking for me but it was a deliberate choice to stay hidden. Kay and I … well, we're together now and we've decided to keep a low profile from all the super-hero malarkey."

"But you'll come back to the Doom Patrol now … you and Kay, yes?" Rita asked.

"No. We've talked it through and we don't want to do that anymore … Not at the moment anyway," Cliff replied.

"Then why did you appear at the Chief's meeting?" Larry asked.

"Because I knew it would end up as an almighty mess."

"And it did," Rita added.

"You'll do just fine without us," Cliff said.

[END]


End file.
